Verdict

In his new book The Verdict respected Algerian political activist and humanitarian Elias Adam presents his carefully judged observation and examination of the human condition. As he challenges the notion that we are the superior race, when in fact, we are increasingly to be seen as the root cause of almost every problem in the world, he offsets the rational of each proposition against the turbulent back drop of his own life In a remorseless search for the truth behind our veneer of civilized life and the banners we have named laws he juxtaposes his ideas by using the life of a dog as a comparison, by which he comes to some startling conclusions about which is the most savage of the two species. Based broadly on his life experiences he has created different scenarios to illustrate each point while the book is set modestly within a cafe that he frequents, where he analyses its customers as it soon becomes his human laboratory. As the ideas unfold the setting of each becomes progressively more surrealistic as the Dog Chiotby plays a large part in the book and because it is a dreamlike, it allows him to put aside all of his inhibitions to talk more freely and humbly about himself.